Many Australian parents of school-age children will be looking forward to a break from the routine of packing school lunch boxes over the summer holidays. But in some other countries, lunch boxes are increasingly being replaced by school lunch programs.

Around 80% of primary school children in high-income countries globally receive school meals. This includes almost all primary school children in countries such as Finland, Sweden, Japan and South Korea. It’s around three-quarters of primary school children in the United States and 40% in New Zealand.

School meal programs may provide breakfast, lunch, snacks or food to take home, but in many countries they include a school lunch.

Australia is one of the few high-income countries that’s not part of the School Meals Coalition, a global alliance of national governments that aims to ensure all children get nutritious school meals by 2030.

That’s despite many Australian families struggling to afford enough nutritious food. Around 16% of Australian families with dependent children (including students aged 15–24) experienced food insecurity in 2023. It was 34% in lone-parent households.

High levels of ultra-processed food consumption among Australian school children are also contributing to rising overweight and obesity, which increases the risk of chronic diseases in adulthood.

With so many ultra-processed foods – such as chips and biscuits – in........

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